peace flags | Mama Cormier

…. not quite yet

The library has been weeded of 1300 damaged and outdated books, hundreds of new books have been processed and added to the newly organized shelves, and the cases from the book fair were picked up today.

The book fair was a huge success. Over $6700. worth of merchandise was sold and 60% comes back into the library in the way of new books. I had a crew of student helpers that drove me crazy at times with their enthusiasm but I couldn’t have survived the week without them. Today I rewarded them with some of the merchandise from the fair (pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners and treats).

I thought the day would be somewhat normal but our caretaker kindly started to assemble my new desk in the middle of the library and a group of students helped me put the books back into one the carousels that had to be emptied last week before we could move it in the first place. I still have a little bit of paperwork to do before I find out exactly how much money I have to spend on books.

Tomorrow I have to assemble over a hundred peace banners designed by the students to string and hang in the gym for our Remembrance Day assembly on Friday. I also have to get lessons ready for a supply teacher who is going to cover my classes for three days while I’m away. I have to undergo minor surgery and hopefully there won’t be any complications. I foolishly thought I could go back to work the next day but my doctor said I could be off for as long as a week. I’ve booked 3 days which takes me into the weekend.

I have a few more report cards I have to proofread before I can go to bed so I’m going to sign off. Hopefully my new desk will be assembled tomorrow and I’m hoping to share some of the peace banners that my students designed. Till tomorrow. Cheers!

…. when it rains it pours

Literally it was pouring rain today and the kids were indoors all day. That’s tough on the kids and the teachers.

My friend L and I left school earlier than we normally do and headed for Art Junction hoping to find some free materials for my art classes and for her dance and music classes. The posters I was hoping to get weren’t accessible today because of a flood they had earlier in the summer but I did find these great banners that can be cut to size. The back side of these banners are blank and white and will work well for painting projects. L found lots of interesting materials for making instruments with the kids and she picked up some very funky costumes to use for her grade 5 opera production.

When I got home tonight I checked out a lot of art blogs and was so inspired that I finally pulled out my paints and had a great time. I created 3 mono prints on yupo paper and worked on making 3 examples of peace banners (using the recycled banners from Art Junction). This year for our Remembrance Day assembly we decided to decorate the gym with peace flags created by the children.

When I said ‘when it rains, it pours’ I was also referring to my obsession with painting. Once I start I don’t want to stop. It’s now 1:50 in the morning and I have to get up at 6:30 to go to work. The good thing about doing art is that I don’t snack….hmmm, maybe I should do more of this but stop at a more reasonable hour.

Here are the pieces of art that I was working on. The yupo prints are 6″ x 8″ and the flags are 14″ long.